


sweetener

by stardustspeedway



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-18 15:11:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15488670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustspeedway/pseuds/stardustspeedway
Summary: a little something sweet ♥ a collection of short fiction for my favourite GBF pair





	1. nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Eventually, every fic writer has that One Collection of short fic that they use words or themes to write for. And now, I finally have mine!
> 
> I (mostly) write sappy stories because I want to make people, and myself, feel happy. So to take the edge off of the day, I`ll use this collection to write something sweet. I hope these make you feel a little sweeter too. And yes, the title just may be a little shoutout to miss Ariana

Most nights, Gran could weather any storm that came his way, both literal and figurative. Nighttime wasn`t exactly restful to begin with; deities filling his mind nightly, asking him to focus his power and strength in the pursuit of truth. With such a heavy burden, bad dreams were hardly uncommon.

As the distant rumbles of thunder rocked the ship, all those aboard were lulled into a deeper sleep. The real world painted patterns on the back of the captain`s mind, bringing forth the past to meet the future.

It was a stormy night, just like this one.

A young boy, just shy of six, was alone in his bed as the rain came down in heavy sheets. It painted the windows so steadily that, when he was brave enough to peer outside, he thought the house was at the bottom of the sea.

His “mothers” - that is, the other mothers in the village - always told him to be brave. _There`s nothing to be afraid of, Gran. You`re a big boy._

A lonely child with no one to hold him close and whisper that everything would be okay. A sharp rumble, closer than before, made him shout and hide under his covers. Suddenly, he didn`t feel like a brave boy anymore. The distant clouds that he tried to hide from looked like they could swallow him whole and take him down to the bottom of the sky where his father was.

Closer, closer, closer still.

A loud crack of thunder struck, shaking him down to his core. He cried out, reaching for someone, anyone —

But nobody was there.

Gran stood up straight in bed, drenched in sweat. He pressed the back of his hand to his cheek to find the damp tracks of tears press into his skin. _Just go back to sleep, pretend it never happened,_ he thought to himself. That was his usual routine when this happened.

A knock on the door startled him. Like he was a child once more, his instinct was to hide under his covers. But he was older now, those memories over a decade behind him. Now, Gran was an experienced adventurer, a captain with a crew that was heading into the unknown.

Despite that, his voice still quivered when he gave permission to enter. Even in the shroud of darkness, Gran could make out the familiar silhouette of Percival.

“Forgive me for bothering you, captain, but I could hear you from my room.” The knight politely inclined his head in acknowledgement, allowing Gran to gather himself.

“I...I`m sorry to have woken you,” Gran murmured, looking away in shame as he hurriedly pushed away the last of his tears.

“It`s not a problem,” Percival`s voice grew even softer as he sat at the edge of Gran`s bed, allowing him space to breathe. “I wasn`t disturbed. Rather, I was worried about you.”

“Me?” Gran`s voice is incredulous. “I`m fine.” He insisted, trying a little too hard to sound calm and collected as he pushed away the lingering ghost of memories that tried to reappear.

Percival raises an eyebrow.

“You were crying, Gran.”

“Well, everyone cries.” He asserts in a childish voice.

“Precisely.” Percival smiles, reaching out to wipe away a tear that lingered on Gran`s cheek.

“Ah.”

Now he gets it.

“You tricked me.” Such a plain, obvious realization made Gran want to laugh at himself — to laugh at his childishness. In spite of everything he`s been through, he`s afraid of a little rain and a scary dream?

Gran`s only response is the sound of the storm as he finds himself wrapped in a tender and warm embrace. The incessant drumming of rain is replaced by a heartbeat, strong and steady.

“It`ll be alright, Gran.” Percival strokes the back of Gran`s head. “Go back to sleep.”

His chest tightens as a fresh wave of tears spring forth, clutching tightly onto Percival`s pajamas.

In his memories, he was alone. It was, and is, a truth that could never be changed.  
But in his present — and more importantly, his future — Gran no longer had to weather the storm alone.

Gran allowed the tears to fall, soaked up by the shoulder he leaned into. Percival was always so warm, so soothing, with a unique scent that was reminiscent of fire - the memories that filled Gran`s mind now were not the ones of a lonely childhood, but of the fateful moment that they had met.

It was a stormy night, just like this one.

Curled up against the headboard for support, the two fell into a peaceful asleep. Gran never once moved from Percival`s arms that remained wrapped so securely around him.


	2. loved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percival awakens in his childhood bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers for the event "between frost and flame"

Waking in the twilight hour in the stead of dawn was haunting.

****Percival roused from what felt like a ten year slumber, every possible muscle from head to toe sour with soreness. He could barely move his pinkie without feeling a dull ache permeate his entire body.

Little by little, reality made its way back to his consciousness — his eyes trailed from the heavy red rug twined in gold to the rich satin curtains framing a window of the night sky.

His bedroom in Wales castle.

He began to recollect why they were even there in the first place, a thought that struck him far worse than any wound. They were here precisely due to their dance with death and the otherworld, a hair`s breadth from being unable to stop his brother, and more importantly, stop his brother from destroying himself.

The mere thought of how close they came made him shiver. Percival attempted to tug the covers further up his body, only to feel a weight on his hip.

The weight belonged to a boy who was slumped onto his bedside, exhaustion clear on his sleeping face. He was similarly bruised and bandaged from head to toe, giving Percival an inclination what he himself must look like at this moment. 

He didn`t expect to find Gran here of all places, but it was clear that he had insisted upon being there as he healed. His eyes ran down the myriad of tiny cuts and plasters on his arm to find that it was resting soundly on Percival`s. Although his body was lax in sleep, Gran`s hands were clasped as tight as they could manage in an effort to guard him even when he was unconscious.

Percival smiled at the gesture, tenderly holding the captain`s hand in return. He doesn`t remember Gran sustaining any grave wounds to his hands during the battle, however, and wondered how such a heavy layer of bandages ended up there.

Soft sounds of rousing interrupted his thoughts.

Percival waited patiently as Gran went through a similar daze, gazing blearily at his surroundings before realizing that, despite all that happened, he — no, _they —_  were very much alive.

“Good morning, Gran.” Percival didn`t realize how hoarse his voice was until he tried speaking, which made Gran smile a little.

“More like, evening, right?” The captain replies, that ever optimistic smile radiant even in the soft moonlight.  
  
Gran`s voice was more or less the same, and the two of them indulged themselves in soft laughter even though breathing itself was quite painful.

Noticing their hands were still linked, Percival gave Gran`s palm a soft squeeze.

"Why are your hands hurt so, Gran?"  
  
"Oh, that..." Gran seemed sheepish at the memory, although he did not move to pull away. In fact, he squeezed back as he explained. "When you let yourself be hurt by the royal guard. I was so angry that I couldn`t do anything."

His brows furrow trying to reason why Gran wouldn’t do anything, as that was so unlike him, until his memory hit him with another visceral pang of guilt.

_That’s right...I ordered him to stand back._

It was sobering to see how his ideals affected others.

Ideal. Yes, that was his desire.

_Ideally_ he wished to protect, to satisfy everyone if he could. It was an unattainable, dreamy way of thinking that had ultimately saved their country from ruin, but the remnants of his decisions along the way lingered.

His eyes rested firmly on Gran`s hands.

Physical scars that would remind him just how those ideals affected the ones he loved the most.

In spite of everything, he had no choice but to continue this path; the decision he had made even in the face of death. His mother instilled a love into him that he would never forget since that fateful day. To care for, to love others. Yet Aglovale had learned the opposite lesson. It was strange how two people could emerge from the same situation with hearts as different as night and day.

There was no trust left in Aglovale since his mother’s life had been taken, and who could blame him? Far be it from Percival to refute his brother entirely, but he wanted show his precious family, the only family he had left, that there was reason to trust people in this world. Even if not completely, even if the whole world would continue to betray and hurt them, couldn`t they at least count on the love that had been with them since birth?

There were many types of loves in this world. The ties that form at birth, regardless of one`s will, and the love that was forged through fire. Those who fought beside you, who had a choice to be beside you or not.

Gran never once had an obligation to stay with Percival. He could have easily made up his mind to let Percival deal with the fallout of his own foolish decision to venture back to Wales alone.

Gran had challenged his ideals that day. But instead of telling him what was right or wrong, however, he gave Percival a different message by walking through the heart of the flames with him.

_Let me stand beside you. You don`t have to fight alone._

Percival was indeed loved a thousand times over.

"Thank you for respecting my wishes," He replied in a somber, respectful voice. "...and thank you even more for disrespecting them and following me.” Percival saw surprise alight in Gran`s eyes that he would even say such a thing.

Their exhaustion allowed the both of them to be more candid, a little less guarded about the feelings they were nervous to speak of. 

“I couldn`t have done it without you, Gran," Percival said as he laced their bandaged fingers together, supporting Gran`s wounds with his hand. He was proud, but he wasn`t too proud to admit when he was wrong.  
  
"Of course, Percival," Gran smiles warmly despite the fatigue, pressing his cheek against the knight`s hand. "I care about you."   
  
"And I you, Gran."

Holding on to him ever so gently, Percival supported Gran`s unsteady limbs as he climbed into his bed. Although Gran made a halfhearted attempt at laying away from Percival to avoid agitating his wounds, the two still found their way into one another’s arms.


End file.
